


Off Track

by camichats



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Fake/Pretend Relationship, Getting Together, M/M, Marauders' Era, aromantic Lily
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-17
Updated: 2016-08-17
Packaged: 2018-09-07 23:05:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8819878
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/camichats/pseuds/camichats
Summary: James bets Sirius that Lily would date him even if she thought he was gay. Naturally, he needs Padfoot's help.





	

**Author's Note:**

> (reposting from when this work was deleted)

“I’m telling you! Lily would totally go on a date with me now. She’s so susceptible to my charms” Sirius snorted but James ignored him “that I bet she’d go on a date with me even if she thought I was gay.” 

Sirius raised an eyebrow. “Siriusly?” 

“Siriusly,” he confirmed confidently. 

“All right. We date, and you have a month to convince the lovely lady Lily to either kiss you or go on a date with you.” 

James’s forehead scrunched as he frowned slightly, looking confused. “Why are we dating?” 

Sirius rolled his eyes. “ _ Fake _ dating, my deer. How else would we make her think you’re gay?” 

James shrugged. “If you say so. So, what, some hand holding and kissing?” 

Sirius nodded, gazing off into space as he thought. “Half of Hogwarts thinks we’re dating already, Lily will need little persuasion.” He paused for a moment. “What does the winner get?” 

“Hm? Oh, right. Ermmmmm, an open favor?” 

Sirius’s eyes glinted with mischief and he focused on James instead of the wall. “How about an open anything? Anything the other wants, we’d have to do.” 

James perked up. It was higher stakes than any other bet they’d had, but both were confident in their ability to win the bet. He stuck out his hand. “Solemnly swear.” 

Sirius shook his hand with a returned, “Solemnly swear.” 

* * *

The first time Sirius kissed James’s cheek in the middle of the Great Hall when he had to leave for detention but James didn’t, he hardly noticed the stares it incurred from the surrounding people. He pouted, watching Sirius leave the Hall. Without him. He was upset every time they didn’t have the same detention, and he never stopped to think that this time, his reaction would be interpreted differently.

Until he turned back and saw five fellow Gryffindors (including his deer Moony and Wormtail) staring at him, awaiting an explanation. 

“What?” James asked, completely oblivious. 

“Sirius just kissed your cheek,” Remus said slowly, gaze darting back to the door and around James as if expecting Sirius to suddenly appear and burst out laughing. 

There was a moment of vertigo where James remembered their bet and how they were fake dating before he connected it to Sirius kissing his cheek. “Oh, yeah,” he shrugged, “we’re dating.” 

“WHAT?!” 

James would deny it, but he jumped slightly at the collection of voices loudly expressing themselves. He looked at his suddenly larger audience. “What, like none of you ever guessed,” he said with a roll of his eyes and turning back to a meal he had no intention of finishing. 

That was all anyone said that evening, until Sirius got back to the dorm and Remus and Peter confronted them about it, demanding details about just  _ how _ it came to be. 

Sirius, having been raised to be a master of politics by the Blacks, deflected them and then crawled into bed with James. It wasn’t exactly new for them, but Peter reminded them to not be stingy with silencing charms. 

“You didn’t hear us in the past,” James said, closing the curtains around his four-poster pointedly as Sirius took care of the privacy spells. He sighed as he flopped back. “Nosy buggers.” 

Sirius wasn’t listening to him though, making James frown and poke him in the ribs. He absently caught James’s fingers and held them still. “We should just tell everyone we got together right before term started when we were drinking Firewhiskey. Doesn’t invite a lot of questions, at least, not ones that could reasonably be answered.” 

“If you say so,” James said, freeing his fingers and drumming them idly on Sirius’s stomach. “People are going to get suspicious if we act all innocent about this.” 

“So, snogging?” 

James nodded. “In the Common Room, mostly, maybe the dorm and a hallway or two, so people don’t think it’s just for show.” 

Sirius hummed in agreement. “It’s been awhile since we’ve kissed, and we don’t want it to look awkward the first time someone sees.” 

James barely considered it for a moment before leaning in and he felt the familiar press on lips on warm, smooth lips. 

Sirius opened his mouth in invitation after a few seconds, and James had the pleasant sensation of feeling like he was sliding back home as his tongue entered Sirius’s mouth.

* * *

“So how’s it going with Lily?” Sirius inquired one day while they were alone in the dormitory.

“Huh?” 

His brow raised and a small smirk graced his lips. “Tsk, tsk. Two weeks and no progress. I told you, she doesn’t want to date you any more now than she did a year ago.” 

James’s face froze. Oh shit. He’d completely forgotten about the bet. He was so comfortable in his relationship-- he grimaced internally as he realised he should probably put quotes around that word-- with Sirius that he’d forgotten the reason this had all started. “She’ll come around,” James said, feigning airiness. 

Sirius gave him a strange look. “Yeah, I guess...” He changed the subject, trying to repair the awkward atmosphere, and although they both went along with it, it was there.

* * *

James did try to win the bet... for all of five seconds on the next to last day. “Hello Lily, you’re looking gorgeous, as always.” He sat in the chair across from her in the library. 

Lily just looked at him, waiting for him to reach his point. “Hi James. And thank you. While I’m sure your boyfriend appreciates your poor attempts at flirtation with me, can you skip that to get to what you’re actually here about?” 

James’s smile became obviously fixed at the word ‘boyfriend’, and he let it fall away a moment later, crossing his arms as he slumped back in his chair. “Sirius and I made a bet.” 

She raised her eyebrows, not annoyed, not upset, just waiting. 

He sighed, mussing up his hair, which, despite fifth-year Lily’s beliefs, was something he did when upset in one manner or another (usually when asking her out, it was because he was nervous, right now because he was stressed). 

“It ended up being that I had to seduce you within a month while you thought I was gay.” 

“Seduce me,” she repeated flatly. 

“Just a kiss or agreeing to a date,” he assured her distractedly. “The point is, for you to think I was gay, me and Sirius decided to pretend we were dating.” 

Realisation dawned on Lily and she let out a small “Oh.” 

“Oh James you are such an idiot.” 

“What?” he said indignantly, although he 100% agreed with her at the time. 

“Okay, look. I’m not interested in dating, never have been. But, even if I  _ had _ been, I wouldn’t have said yes to you. Because after you stopped being a massive toerag, it became pretty clear that you had eyes for one person. And that person has black hair, grey eyes, the last name Black, and an annoyingly keen fashion sense. 

“And you know what James?” She leaned in and whispered, “Everybody knows it.” 

Practically swimming in despair because apparently  _ everyone _ knew he was in love with Sirius before he did, James responded, “That’s great Lily, but that doesn’t exactly help me.” 

She turned back to her long neglected work in front of her and said, “Everybody  _ also _ knows that Sirius has been head-over-heels for you since third year.” 

Lily expected James to run off with the news, but instead he seemed to have been petrified from the shock. She picked up a closed book and hit his head, making firm eye contact when he jostled. “Go find Sirius, tell him you lost the bet, and then kiss him.” When James hesitated, she added with a sly smirk, “Or maybe I’ll go and do it for you.” 

His eyes narrowed immediately. “You wouldn’t...” 

Lily pretended to start getting up, which sent James shooting out of the library, not paying any mind to Madam Pince’s glare. Lily shook her head fondly and began on her work. 

James burst into their dorm, triumphant, eyes scanning and locking once they found Sirius’s. “Wormtail,” he said without switching his gaze, “I love you, but get out.” 

Peter didn’t seem overly inconvenienced (or if he was, he didn’t make a fuss), leaving the pseudo-hopefully-about-to-be-real couple alone. 

Sirius sighed, shaking his head. “Damn, Prongs, I didn’t think you’d actually be able to swing it. All right,” he held his hands up in surrender, “you win.” 

“What? No I don’t. I lost actually. Bet’s over, you win.” James ran a hand through his hair, wound up about something, clearly, though Sirius didn’t know what it was. 

James mumbled, “Fuck it,” under his breath and strode towards Sirius purposefully. 

Sirius, for his part, only watched James with confusion as he grabbed Sirius’s face and pulled him in for a fierce kiss. He responded automatically, tilting his head for a better angle. Just as Sirius went to slide his hands from James’s biceps to his back, James pulled back, both of them panting harshly. 

“Go on a date with me.” 

“Okay,” Sirius answered, not processing what James said, only knowing that he wanted to kiss him some more. His brain caught up with him a few moments later. “Wait what?” 

“A date. You, me. Real.” 

Sirius grinned, looking happier than James could ever remember seeing him. “Yeah. Yeah, that sounds perfect.” 

And it really was. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm on tumblr [@siriuslystarbucks](http://siriuslystarbucks.tumblr.com/)


End file.
